title: Association between water consumption and body weight outcomes: a systematic review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Drinking water is often applied as a dietary means for weight loss and overweight/obesity prevention, but no evidence-based recommendation exists for this indication.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We summarized the existing evidence on the association between water consumption and body weight outcomes in adults of any body weight status.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a systematic review, we retrieved studies from 4 electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and COCHRANE), cross-references by PubMed functions and hand-searching, and experts' recommendations. Any type of study including adults aged >18 y that reported the association between daily water consumption and any weight-related outcome, such as body weight, body mass index, or body weight classifications, was eligible.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 4963 retrieved records, 11 original studies and 2 systematic reviews were included. In participants dieting for weight loss or maintenance, a randomized controlled trial, a nonrandomized controlled trial, and an observational longitudinal study showed that increased water consumption, in addition to a program for weight loss or maintenance, reduced body weight after 3-12 mo compared with such a program alone. In mixed-weight populations not primarily dieting for weight loss or maintenance, 2 short-term randomized trials showed no effect of water consumption on body weight; 6 cross-sectional studies showed inconsistent results.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Studies of individuals dieting for weight loss or maintenance suggest a weight-reducing effect of increased water consumption, whereas studies in general mixed-weight populations yielded inconsistent results. The evidence for this association is still low, mostly because of the lack of good-quality studies. This trial was registered at www.crd.york.ac.uk/Prospero as CRD42012002585.
authors.affiliation: Berlin School of Public Health, Charité University Medical Center Berlin, Berlin, Germany. rebecca.muckelbauer@charite.de.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Muckelbauer
authors.forename: Giselle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sarganas
authors.forename: Anke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grüneis
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Müller-Nordhorn
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D004326:Drinking; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D009765:Obesity / Q000178:diet therapy; D050177:Overweight / Q000178:diet therapy; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D015431:Weight Loss